Country Fire Service volunteers angry bill ignores their cancer risk

The Country Fire Service Volunteers Association said Industrial Relations Minister John Rau had ignored its requests to meet before he introduced legislation for firefighters' compensation.

If passed, the bill would allow compensation for career firefighters in South Australia who contracted certain cancers, without a burden of proof.

The Government said it needed more evidence before it could support the same measures for volunteer firefighters.

Volunteers Association president Roger Flavell said the demand for more evidence was baffling.

"Volunteer firefighters are angry about this. The volunteer firefighters don't do anything different to the SA MFS (Metropolitan Fire Service) firefighters," he said.

"[They] most likely attend as many incidents as a lot of the career of SA MFS firefighters.

"This legislation is actually discriminating against volunteers."

Greens MLC Tammy Franks said 13,000 volunteer firefighters would miss out on a right of access to compensation.

"We've already had the arguments, we accepted from the Government that the science behind this bill is valid, so if the science applies to those who get paid to fight fires it should apply to those who do not get paid to fight fires," she said.

"The Government, when they finally actually announced the introduction of presumptive legislation with regards to cancer for firefighters, left out a key part of the equation which was CFS firefighters and have only included MFS.

"We won't be letting it through the Parliament without volunteers getting protection too."